RAF Cranwell 16th-17th April

RAF Cranwell is a busy and complex station which fulfils many functions.
The North side comprises of the RAF College which provides Initial Officer Training (IOT). Adastral Hall houses the Inspectorate of Recruiting (IofR) and the Officers and Aircrew Selection Centre (OASC) which selects and recruits officers and aircrew.
The South side houses No 3 Flying Training School which conducts advanced pilot training and all RAF rear crew training. The East Midlands University Air Squadron is also based here.

RAF Cranwell was established in April 1916 originally as an RNAS (Royal Naval Air Service) base and has been of major importance strategically to the RAF ever since. Sir Frank Whittle attended RAF Cranwell in the late 1920s. While here he formulated many of his ideas for the jet engine and on 15 May 1941, the world's first true jet engine flight took place.

I was most impressed by the dedication and focus of the young officers I watched in training. These young men and women were learning the skills needed to ensure their ability to provide leadership and sound decision making once they have completed their training.

Part of the visit included flying in a twin engined plane while the trainee pilot went through his paces with an instructor watching. I am not very good on fairground rides so doing rolls, cutting engines, getting out of a tail spin and doing emergency rapid landings and take offs made my stomach churn but it was a wonderful experience.